FP02-6. SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE AND ENERGY DISPERSIVE X-RAY SPECTROMETRY STUDIES ON THE MATERIAL SURFACE OF EXTRUDED POLYCEL OSSICULAR PROSTHESES

Chul-Ho Jang, Hyong-Ho Cho, Seok-Jin Moon, Yong-Bum Cho (Chonnam National University Medical School, Korea), Pa-Chun Wang (Cathay General Hospital, Taiwan)

Objective: The cause of ossicular prosthesis extrusion remains an issue of interest to many otologists. This study evaluated the change in material surfaces and chemical elements of extruded total ossicular replacement prostheses (TORPs) and partial ossicular replacement prostheses (PORPs).

Materials and Methods: A total of nine extruded Polycel ossicular prostheses (four TORPs, five PORPs) from nine patients were investigated using scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX).

Results: All subjects from the study group showed loss of fibrous capsule at both platform and shaft in the extruded prostheses. In comparison with the control group, the extruded prostheses had a lower level of carbon element (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p<0.05).

Conclusion: Loss of fibrous capsule and micro-degradation are probably two of the many factors that contribute to the extrusion of ossicular prostheses.

* Contact person email: chulsavio@hanmail.net